What's in a Name?
by kate811
Summary: Niles' last name throughout the years, and the one person who kept it secret for him.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: Hello, hello! I'm posting the first chapter of this even though the rest of the fic isn't even close to being done, because I guess I'm a masochist and I hate myself (and am kind of hoping reviews inspire me to finish writing!) But I'm excited for this new fic and each chapter stands alone, so it'll be fine. I hope. Well, on that note, enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

**1985 **

She knew she should be grateful for her _promotion_ – that Maxwell giving her more responsibility was a good sign, that soon she'd be made partner and have some creative control over the business – but she knew Maxwell only delegated the position to her because he was too lazy and numbers overwhelmed him. Still, she had to admit that _Business Manager_ sounded a whole lot better than _Secretary_, even though when she had asked Maxwell what her new position entailed he sort of just stumbled over half-sentences and gestured to the pile of papers on his desk.

"Oh, uh, well, you…you can start with doing the payroll for the staff! Yes! Payroll. Good. Well, I'll be taking off now. Good night, CC," Maxwell was already out the door before she even had time to consider that they were in his home office.

She rolled her eyes, opening the payroll book, nearly cursing when she realized he meant the payroll for his household staff, not even for Sheffield productions.

"What do I care if the maids get paid?" she muttered as she scanned the list of names.

And then, like a beacon of light sent down from God himself, a name caught CC's eye.

Not just any name. It was Niles, her favorite (or least favorite depending on which was more of an insult, CC didn't know, nor did she care) maid of them all. Right there, on the page, his name. First and last name. Middle initial. His most precious, most guarded secret, right there in bold letters in Maxwell's stupid payroll book.

"So _that's_ why he keeps it secret," a slow grin formed on her face and she merrily laughed to herself as she immediately underlined his name in red ink, wanting to always be able to distinguish it from the other servants who ignored her and did _not_ live to make her life a living hell.

Wanting to save Niles for last, CC set to work writing out the rest of the servants' paychecks. Twenty minutes passed, and at last she was down to the final name. She grinned as she switched out the regular ballpoint pen for her much fancier fountain pen and signed the check with a flourish.

Perhaps she was going to like being a business manager after all!

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><p>"Ah, yes, CC, did you get a chance to finish those paychecks last night? It's payday," Maxwell asked as he waltzed into the office twenty minutes late and greeted her the following morning.<p>

"Of course I did," She replied with her fakest smile as she handed him the stack of enveloped paychecks. She neglected to mention the contracts she also edited the previous night without him. If he wasn't going to give her a serious job, at least she could fix all the mistakes he made after he left for the day. She made a mental note to check out his taxes when she got a moment.

"CC, I don't know what I would do without you. Keep it up, and I see a bright future for you here at Sheffield productions! Now, is there anything I can do for you?" He asked without really meaning it, having already headed for the door to hand out paychecks and waste some time hanging out with Sara and the babies, of course.

"Actually, now that you mention it…" she trailed off as she watched her boss try to mask the look of dread on his face at the thought of actually having to do something, "it's nothing big. I was just wondering if I could give Niles his paycheck today?"

Maxwell nearly sighed in relief upon realizing she was actually saving him something to do so he could go fawn over his wife.

"Absolutely, CC. You know, it's so nice to see your making an effort to get along with Niles."

He handed her the check and was out the door faster than she could say "As if."

She practically skipped out the door to find her archenemy, realizing she already knew where he was. As much as Maxwell found ways to procrastinate doing any work, no one knew how to waste time like the Butler. Since breakfast was over and the other staff took care of cleanup, Niles usually spent his midmornings doing the daily crossword puzzle and drinking a cup of tea. She kind of hated herself for knowing that.

She found him in the living room, Maxwell having no doubt retreated to the nursery to stare at his wife and children. She rolled her eyes at him – feet resting on the coffee table, glasses perched on nose, eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration. She wondered what Maxwell was paying him for before realizing Maxwell paid himself to walk around the house pretending to be important.

"Five letter word for waste of space," she started as he jumped in surprise at being interrupted, "N-I-L-E-S."

"Oh, it's only you," he retorted, taking off his glasses and removing his feet from the table, standing up to square off with her as usual.

"Don't let me interrupt, Niles. I'm sure you're doing very important work here. That couch isn't gonna get an indent of your ass in it all on its own."

"You know, now that you're here, I think you might have actually helped me out. Seven letter word for boozehound: B-A-B-C-O-C-K."

CC rolled her eyes, "Oh can it, Spic 'n Span. I'm actually here to do something nice."

That piqued his interest.

"Why? You never do anything nice."

"Well with my new promotion," she paused to glare at Niles, who snorted. At least someone else knew her new job was just as much of a load of bull as being Maxwell's secretary was.

"Anyway, Maxwell assigned me the task of doing payroll, so, happy payday, Butler Boy," she smiled as she handed him the paycheck, luring him into a false sense of security.

"Oh, well, that actually is very kind of you. Thank you, Miss Bab-" his voice trailed off as he ripped open the envelope and put two and two together.

"No," he whispered dramatically.

"That's right, Niles, read it and weep!" Oh, how she'd hoped he would weep. She had her camera tucked in her purse in case he did.

"I always knew you were Satan's mistress," Niles sighed in defeat. "Go ahead, have your laugh. My last name-"

"Is humiliating!" CC interrupted. "Boy, if that got out, you'd be up a creek without a paddle, wouldn't you?!"

"And you'd be dangling a lifejacket just out of my reach," Niles deadpanned. "You're going to shout it from the rooftops, aren't you?"

She rolled her eyes, "Niles, don't be ridiculous. This is too big for me to just go ahead and announce to everyone. I've gotta milk this for all its worth. Plus the joy of having something over your head for once in my life? I need a cigarette."

He gawked at her, "So you're not going to tell for now?"

"Niles, with a last name like that, you'd have to do something pretty awful to get me to release it to the world AND NO, that is not a challenge, so don't get any ideas, dust buster."

He held up his hands in surrender, "Wasn't planning on it."

"You know something, Niles?" She asked.

"What?" He replied, still in disbelief that she wasn't going to ruin his life…yet.

"I think I'm going to look forward to these biweekly encounters," she winked at him before striding away triumphantly.

"Who _are_ you?!" He asked in awe, sitting back down on the sofa.

She laughed and was nearly out of the room before she turned back around, "Tosspot."

"Yes, I know you're that but—"

"A seven letter word for boozehound, idiot. Tosspot." She watched as he looked down at the puzzle and fit the letters in perfectly.

"Thanks," He replied begrudgingly.

"I'd like sugar in my coffee this afternoon, not your usual salt," She instructed.

"Fine. Maybe I'll even put it in a clean mug for once," He muttered.

CC smiled as she left the living room and headed back to the office. He'd still probably do half sugar/half salt, but it was progress.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed! Here's chapter 2, which takes place during the Season 2 episode What the Butler Sang. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

**1995**

She plastered her fakest smile onto her face and stood to face the crowd of backers. Schmoozing backers was one of her favorite hobbies. She could do this in her sleep.

"We're at the Act One curtain. It's a gorgeous ballad sung by Niles…Niles…" Oh crap. Oh no. She forgot she'd have to introduce him.

He had been a pain in the ass ever since Nanny Fine suggested they use him for their song: making her fetch him fresh croissants, making her make him tea, making her answer the door for him. But did she really want to reveal his last name over it? Did she really want to give up the one thing she had over him over a stupid backers audition?

She could feel his eyes on her as she contemplated her next step and couldn't help the smug satisfaction she felt in having the power to utterly humiliate him.

No. It was too soon to give up that feeling.

So, in a split second decision, she decided to improvise, "…butler! Niles deButler, ladies and gentlemen!"

With a grand sweep of her arm and a slight bow, she returned to her seat amidst the polite applause of the audience. She smiled slightly as the song began. He really did have a beautiful voice.

Her enjoyment was short-lived, however, when Nanny Fine and her Merry Band of Idiots interrupted in the background. She knew she should have sat back and let Maxwell handle it, but couldn't help the rage that bubbled up inside her. She took off after the nanny, Maxwell not far behind her.

Finally, after a frenzied chase, Maxwell dragged Nanny Fine off to the kitchen by her nose and she was left to pick up the pieces of the disastrous audition. She braced herself, knowing that wasted time meant wasted money, and wasted money meant angry backers.

So it was a complete shock when she wandered back into the living room amidst chatty, laughing backers holding open checkbooks. Niles must have made a lasting impression if they still cared about the show after what Nanny Fine did.

"CC, dear! That was simply spectacular," Beatrice Palmer, one of Manhattan's most prominent socialites called to her, handing her a check with a generous amount of zeroes.

CC recovered quickly as she placed the check in her purse.

"Yes, Niles has a wonderful voice, doesn't he?"

Beatrice shook her head. "Oh, I wasn't talking about him. I meant the wonderful comedy act in the background!"

It felt like a punch to the gut.

"The…the wonderful comedy act? But that wasn't…that—that was just mindless drivel!"

"Darling, no one goes to the theatre to have to think," Beatrice said with a wave of her hand.

"But the song," CC tried desperately. "The song was the heart of the show!"

"The song stinks, luv. Focus on that Three Stooges bit in the background. There's your meal ticket."

With a quick _'Ciao, darling'_ and the toss of her mink shawl over her shoulder, Beatrice was gone, leaving CC free to collect checks from more backers impressed with _'that charming lady in the background with the funny voice.'_

She was livid. All their hard work down the drain just because Maxwell's nanny didn't know how to stay out of the way. And Niles…

A slow grin spread wickedly across her face. Well. There was her silver lining. She hadn't seen him since the song ended, and she sure as hell wasn't going to let Maxwell find him first and break the news to him gently. She quickly found Maxwell in the kitchen, brought him up to speed on the situation, and instructed him to go deal with the backers while she set out in search of her prey.

She found him in the first spot she looked: Maxwell's office, sitting in her seat nursing a glass of whiskey.

"They hated me, didn't they?" He asked, not even turning his head to indicate he saw her.

Damn. She had _so_ wanted to be the one to break the news to him.

"I heard you bounding down the hallway. Shook the whole bloody house. You'd only run like that if it meant you were on your way to crush my life's hopes and dreams."

"Your life's hopes and dreams? Niles, we planned this audition three days ago. And even if the backers did like the song, like hell we'd actually cast you in the production," CC said, taking a seat next to him.

"Still. It was three days of not having to fetch Mr. Sheffield's breakfast, make his tea, answer the door…"

"You're right. It was three days of ME doing that _for_ you, you jackass," she said as she elbowed him in the ribs.

"It's a shame," Niles sighed. "If the audition went well I was going to see if I could finagle you into mopping the floors."

"I'm sorry it didn't go well," she said, surprising the both of them with her honesty.

He gave her a bemused look. "No, you're not. You live for these types of moments."

"True," she admitted, "but it's only fun when _I'm_ the one humiliating you. In fact, where the hell is Nanny Fine? She's the one who should be in here apologizing to you, not me."

"She didn't mean it," Niles argued weakly, and she rolled her eyes.

"I couldn't care less what she meant. She still ruined your audition, and as a result Maxwell and I now have to produce a stupid show based on her antics," she let out a pained moan and rubbed at her temples. She was surrounded by idiots, and now she would be producing a play about said idiots. Would she ever get a break?

"Here. Looks like you need this more than I do," Niles said as he handed her his glass of whiskey, which she promptly downed.

"Thanks. I better get back out there before Maxwell accidentally lets it slip that _surprise_! The moronic dancing in the background was _not_ in the original script! He just doesn't keep his nanny on a tight enough leash!" She slipped the empty glass into his hand and got up, moving to the door.

"Miss Babcock, wait! I just wanted to thank you for not announcing my last name out there to the backers." He shot her a grateful smile.

"Niles, the show was a drama. Had I revealed your actual last name the backers would have laughed so hard they'd have missed Nanny Fine's shenanigans in the background," she shifted awkwardly on her feet, unaccustomed to him thanking her for anything, especially for doing something nice for him.

"Besides, it's the one thing I have to hold over your head," she added with a smirk.

That earned a chuckle from Niles. "Well, my pride took enough of a hit today. It would have been much worse to blow the audition along with having New York's wealthiest have the opportunity to laugh at my full name."

"Don't sell yourself short. You have no pride."

"Isn't that your usual pre-date manta?"

She bit back a grin and rolled her eyes, exiting the office. She made it two steps before turning and peeking her head back in the room.

"Hey, Niles? For what it's worth, you sang the song wonderfully today."

He smiled proudly to himself.

"But if you ever coerce me into fetching your breakfast and answering doors for you again, I'll have your last name blown up on a billboard in Times Square," she batted her eyelashes sweetly and left the room, the look of dread on Niles' face filling her with glee for the rest of the day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I am so sorry for the delay. I used my Christmas break to write a Christmas fic and then start 37 other fics that are nowhere near finished. At least each chapter of this stands alone though, right? This one takes place during the Season 4 finale: Fran's Gotta Have It, which you will be able to watch on DVD in April! No, I'm not crying.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

**1997**

It was all a blur. One minute they were tossing insults at each other about Stonehenge, the next she was watching in horror as EMTs lifted him onto a stretcher and wheeled him into an ambulance.

"Is he on any medications? Any prior heart history?" The medic asked as he cut Niles' shirt off and applied electrodes to his chest.

"I…um," CC cleared her throat and shook her head, willing herself to focus. "I gave him an aspirin before he went unconscious. He's not on any other medications, and he's never had any heart problems in the past."

"We need his arm," another medic interrupted. "You can stand by his head."

She stared at the medic holding an IV kit in his hand confusedly before looking down; she hadn't realized she had a vice-like grip on Niles' hand. She immediately let go and moved out of the way as the medics continued to monitor vital signs and start the IV.

It couldn't end like this. Somehow he had become the most important person in her life. He was her sworn enemy and lived to make sure her life was miserable, but her day wasn't complete unless she interacted with him. They weren't friends, he wasn't her boyfriend, but he was a constant in her life. It just couldn't end like this.

The beeping on the heart monitor interrupted her thoughts.

"Pulse is irregular, but it's there," one of the medics said.

She let out a breath she hadn't know she'd been holding and relaxed her fists, her nails leaving crescent-shaped indents in her palms. With shaky hands she smoothed out her hair and fidgeted with her coat, unsure of what to do with herself. Finally, she allowed her eyes to settle on his face.

He was pale, his face a white sheet in stark contrast to his newly dyed jet-black hair. Tentatively, she reached out and brushed a piece of hair off his forehead. His skin felt cool and clammy and she once again was reminded of the gravity of the situation:

Niles had a heart attack. Niles could be dying. She might never see him awake or alive ever again.

She bit back a sob and continued stroking his hair until the jolt of the ambulance coming to a stop let her know they had arrived.

She mutely followed the medics and the stretcher into the hospital, where a nurse handed her papers and pointed to an area where she could wait.

"Can I…um, can I say goodbye to him first?" she asked meekly.

The nurse nodded in understanding and motioned her over to where Niles lay surrounded by tubes and monitors and staff.

"Make it quick," a doctor said sternly but gently.

CC nodded and bit her lip. A million thoughts swirled in her head. There were so many things she wanted to say and so many things she couldn't say and so many things she couldn't even begin to piece together to figure out what they meant for her and for him and for what she felt about him.

She leaned down close to Niles' ear and whispered, "If you die, I swear to God I'll bring you back just to kill you myself. So don't die, Niles. Just…don't die."

She squeezed his hand and stood back up, nodding to the doctor. Immediately, the team whisked Niles away down a hallway and behind a swinging door.

She watched the door swing back and forth until it settled, and then she wearily trudged back to the waiting area, quickly filling out the forms and returning them to the front desk and then placing a quick call to Maxwell to apprise him of the situation. Not knowing what else to do, she sank down into a chair and closed her eyes in an attempt to clear her head.

Minutes later, a voice startled her.

"Ma'am?"

CC opened her eyes and found a nurse standing over her.

"Oh, God. He's dead isn't he?" She felt fresh tears prickling her eyelids.

"Oh, no!" The nurse shook her head vehemently. "Nothing like that! He's hanging in there. It's just…his paperwork. You didn't fill out his last name."

CC almost laughed. The man she … had no idea how to define her feelings for was fighting for his life and this woman was nitpicking his damn forms.

"I gave you his insurance card. If there's a problem with billing, just let me know. Money is no object." She reached for her purse.

"Oh, no," the nurse said, shaking her head again, "nothing like that. This is just hospital policy. We need his first and last name for his bracelet and security reasons."

She knew Niles wouldn't be offended if she told the nurse his last name, but something stopped her. She hadn't even realized she left out his last name in the original forms, and she wondered if on some level she was still trying to protect him.

"Oh, give me that!" CC snatched the papers from the nurse's hands, jotting down the first thing that came to her mind and handing them back.

The nurse offered her a small smile and left, leaving CC to wonder what the hell she just did and why.

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><p>Eventually, Maxwell and Nanny Fine arrived and CC humiliated herself by mistaking a dead body for Niles. The two took pity on her and let her stay at the mansion for the night, where she moped around the house clutching Niles' feather duster the same way she had his hand in the ambulance and again in the hospital. She even had her own version of a heart to heart with Nanny Fine. She felt as though she were living in some sort of weird alternate reality.<p>

Reality smacked her in the face when she entered Niles' room with flowers and a huge smile of relief that he was finally awake, and he immediately played a trick on her, getting her to walk in on Maxwell and Nanny Fine making out in the neighboring hospital bed.

The piercing shriek she let out was loud enough to wake the coma patients in the ICU, but surprisingly no hospital staff rushed in to see what the commotion was about.

"Ah, CC! We didn't hear you come in," Maxwell explained, as if that were reason enough for getting it on with his nanny in the hospital bed next to his sick friend.

"I gathered as much," CC retorted, wondering if she could snag some of Niles' blood pressure medicine.

"Niles! You're awake!" Nanny Fine exclaimed as she wiped the smudged lipstick from the corner of her mouth, tugged her skirt down, and flounced over to his bedside to kiss him on the cheek. "We were worried sick!"

CC snorted under her breath.

"Ah, Niles! Good to see you awake," Maxwell stood up and adjusted his pants as discreetly as he could.

"Thank you, sir, Miss Fine. You didn't have to cut your London trip short for me," Niles replied.

The three proceeded to have a giant love fest, throwing around words of gratitude and admiration, so CC tuned out, wondering why she was still even there.

Eventually she noticed all three pairs of eyes on here.

"What?"

"I was just tellin Niles how worried we all were about him, including you," Fran rolled her eyes, as if CC tuning out was more offensive than the dry humping she and Maxwell were doing a few minutes ago.

"CC saved your life! Called 911 and everything!" Maxwell exclaimed, and CC wondered if he was impressed that she found it in her heart to do it or if he was just impressed in general that someone knew what to do in that situation. Suddenly she found herself grateful that she was the one there with Niles when it happened.

"I just reacted the same way anyone else would given the circumstances," she shrugged, but Fran was already monopolizing both Niles' and Maxwell's attention by talking about meeting Celine Dion.

"That's great, Miss Fine," Niles said through a yawn CC could tell he was faking, "I'm feeling rather tired though if you don't mind…"

"Oh, certainly. Again, good to have you back, old man," Maxwell patted him on the shoulder.

"Love you, call me if you need anything. We'll talk about the hair later," Fran said, kissing him on the cheek.

CC watched as Maxwell guided Fran from the room, his hand resting precariously close to her bottom, the two not even realizing she had stayed behind.

"Well, as fun as the last 24 hours have been, I think I'm gonna head home," she said awkwardly.

"Miss Babcock," Niles called, trying to sit up in the bed, grabbing the remote control.

She watched as the remote's cord tangled itself in with his oxygen tubing, knocking the nasal cannula out of his nose.

"Oh, let me do it, before you make things worse," she interrupted as she strode over to his bedside and expertly detangled the wires and tubes. Before she realized what she was doing she was guiding the nasal prongs back into his nose and wrapping the tubing around each of his ear. Finding the moment oddly intimate, she quickly dropped her hands and took a large step back.

"I seem to be doing a lot of that lately," Niles remarked.

"What? Making things worse? I guess having a heart attack and knocking at death's door makes you more self-aware, because you've been making things worse the entire time I've known you."

"You don't understand, I woke up, I heard a couple moaning. And my first thought-"

"Was to mess with me? A therapist would have a field day with that one, Niles."

She swore she saw his cheeks redden, but it didn't stop him from arguing back. "I heard Mr. Sheffield and Miss Fine moaning, and I saw you! It was just my natural instinct."

"That's great, Niles," CC bit out, shaking her head. "That's just great. You had a heart attack in front of me, I saved your life, I spent the day here worried sick about you, to the point where I embarrassed myself in front of Maxwell and Nanny Fine and some widow when I thought her dead husband was you, and this is the thanks I get?"

"What was that last part?" Niles asked amusedly.

"Oh, forget it!" She threw her hands up in exasperation then moved to gather her things.

His voice stopped her at the door. "Babcock, wait!"

She turned around slowly and looked at him expectantly.

"I think I'm on some powerful drugs, because I didn't know where I was or what had happened when I first woke up. Everything was all fuzzy and jumbled together. I'm sorry. Had I known, I wouldn't have done it, I swear to you. It was cruel, especially after all you've done for me in the last couple of days."

The look in his eyes and the pleading in his voice unnerved her.

"Well, alright," she relented. "But only because you're all drugged up. And just had a heart attack."

She walked back to his bedside, arranging the flowers she brought to look more presentable. She set her coat down on the chair next to his bed and took a seat.

"Now," Niles said, "what was that about you embarrassing yourself in front of a widow?"

"Don't even—" CC started but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Mr. Babcock! So glad to see you're awake," Niles' doctor greeted.

"Mr. Babcock?" Niles looked around confusedly, his eyes finally settling on CC.

"He's still a little groggy," CC explained to the doctor, avoiding Niles' eyes.

The doctor nodded. "Perfectly normal! So how are you feeling, Mr. Babcock?"

CC watched as the doctor examined Niles and wrote a few notes in his chart. After a few instructions on what to do after discharge, he said a quick goodbye and was gone.

"Mr. Babcock?" Niles asked.

"They wanted your last name. It was the first thing that popped into my head."

"It was a medical emergency! You could have given them my real name!"

"I wasn't thinking clearly! You had just had a heart attack! I didn't want you to be embarrassed on top of that. I mean, it's a pretty terrible last name, Niles."

The two sat in silence for a moment as he contemplated her words.

"So you watched me have a heart attack, saved my life, called 911, stuck by me through all that, and protected me from utter humiliation? And the first thing I did upon waking up was play a prank on you?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"My God," Niles said as realization dawned on him. "I'm a Grade A jackass."

"Well," CC smiled smugly, "at least you're self-aware."

He laughed. "Mr. Babcock though?"

"I wasn't thinking!" she said defensively. "Trust me, the thought of the two of us ever sharing a last name makes me feel physically ill."

"Trust me," Niles countered, "I'd rather put my real full name on a billboard in Times Square than ever share a last name with you."

"Well good, I'm glad that's settled. Now if you'll excuse me, I better get back to work. Maxwell got nowhere with Celine Dion and from the looks of it, he wasn't leaving here to try and fix that, so…" She stood up and patted his shoulder awkwardly and fidgeted with his oxygen tubing.

She was startled when his hand grabbed hers.

"Miss Babcock, thank you again…for everything."

"I…um, you're welcome."

He released her hand and she headed for the door.

"Hey, Niles," she called to him quietly from the door, "I'm really glad you didn't die."

They exchanged small smiles and she exited the room. She was headed for the elevators when Niles' doctor stopped her.

"Mrs. Babcock, wait! I have your husband's discharge instructions and prescriptions so you can have them filled for when he goes home."

"Oh. Um, thank you, doctor." She took the papers from him and shoved them in her purse, making a mental note to give them to Maxwell later.

After exchanging goodbyes with the doctor again, CC stepped into an open elevator, wondering why the thought of Niles as her husband didn't make her as physically ill as she had claimed it had.

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><p><strong>Another Author's Note: As a nurse I feel it is my duty to let you know I just made up that last name policy but for the sake of the story, I'm sure you'll all understand.<strong>


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